We'll Have to Let Him Go
by mrs.salvatore39
Summary: a two-shot of the fireplace scene from 'Homecoming'. Damon is angry and Elena feels helpless. fiery lemon...hidden drabbles in chpt 2 COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

_a/n:i found this scene completly heartbreaking when I watched, and I'm sure the neighbours heard me scream in frustration when Damon's cell rang. I knew before the scene was even over that I would end up writing my own version of it, and sure enough five mintues after I finished watching my first request came through! i'm so excited about this, and I couldn't wait to write it. I originally intended for my version to be missing the interruption call from Katherine, but when I re-watched the scene I decided to keep it in. Hope it's still alright this way! Happy Reading!_

_p.s. Spot the Drabble! _

_Dedicated to Simone17 for being the first to request this scene!_

_Salvatore Boarding House_Episode 3x09_

Damon could feel the fury boiling inside him, the flames of fire licking at his control as the disappointment and anger took over his emotions all together. He felt out of control, dangerous and he desperately wished that Elena would leave the room before he did something. The plan was perfect, flawless; he'd even had a backup plan for fuck sakes. It should have worked, it should have all worked. He was afraid the glass in his hand would shatter. Elena continued to pace before him, neither of them able to speak yet. Part of him hoped the silence would go on. He didn't want to talk to her, he didn't want to talk to anyone. He wanted to scream and break things.

"How did this happen?" she sounded upset, scared. She was disappointed in him.

That only fuelled his anger more. "We thought of everything Elena!" he hated feeling like he had to defend himself to her. He'd racked his brain for days deciding the perfect plan. He'd done everything in his power to protect her. "Klaus having hybrids, Mikeal turning on us! We even brought in Katherine so you wouldn't be in danger." She would never know how difficult it had been for him to ask his ex-vampire girlfriend to help. Elena shook her head and crossed her arms. "Anything that could have gone wrong, we were prepared!"

"I don't understand." Elena's tone was calming, and slightly comforting. She hated seeing Damon this way, she hated not being able to do anything to stop the rage of fire burning inside him, consuming the good she'd watched him work through right before her eyes. He down the remnants of amber alcohol in the glass and quickly moved to fill it. All his movements were fast, intensified and followed through with an anger she wasn't sure how to handle. "Stefan wanted Klaus dead, more than anything. That's what we were counting on." She hugged herself, not sure what had gone wrong herself. She felt hopeless and lost, but she couldn't be angry. All of that particular emotion was currently being sucked out of the room by the trembling vampire before her.

Damon let go for a moment, his shoulders sagging slightly and the gusto disappeared from his voice. He sounded defeated, and his eyes glistened with the pain of losing the fight. "We blew it."

Elena stepped forward slightly. "Where's Katherine?"

The mention of her set Damon off again. He couldn't even blame the mishap on her! She'd played her part perfectly and done everything he'd asked from her. "She ran for the hills, as usual! The minute things got bad. And who blames her! Klaus would have crushed her!" he walked around the table and onto the carpet. The glass was in one hand, the bottle in the other. He could feel the heat from the flames of the fireplace licking at his skin. Instead of comforting him, it only seemed to add more burning to the pain in his chest. "I had him Elena. I had Klaus!" he didn't want to shout at her, he didn't want to frighten her but if he didn't yell he would cry. "This could have all been over!"

He couldn't stand seeing the look in her eyes; the concern and the pity and the slight fear. He turned and threw the bottle into the fire with all his might. The sound of shattering glass calmed him a little. At least he could do that, destroy something. The roar of the appreciative flames thanked him as they licked at the liquid accelerant. "Hey." she took a step forward, reaching for his arm. He pulled it out of her reach violently. She couldn't touch him, he couldn't handle that right now, or the look that was surely still in her eyes. "Damon, hey. Hey!" she repeated with more force, grabbing onto him and turning him around, surprisingly forceful. "Listen to me." Her touch gentled as she framed his face in her hands. Her skin was so warm, so soft and he felt some of the anger seep out of him. "We'll survive this." His face had been locked in stone, hard and glaring, but her words softened him just a little more and he felt himself searching her eyes. _Just what exactly did she mean by 'we'? _His fingers tightened around the glass, restraining himself from reaching out and pulling her into his arms. "We always survive." It was like a promise, a vow from her to him that everything would be okay in the end. They just didn't know when the end would be. "Trust me." Her eyes pleaded and he found his voice again, thankful that he wasn't yelling at her anymore.

"We're never getting Stefan back." His eyes roamed her face, memorizing the shape of her lips, the color of her eyes. He would remember the way her hair fell, the way her skin glowed in the color of the fire, and that is what would keep him from doing anything stupid tonight once she left him alone. "You know that don't you?" it was more of a statement than a question, and he waited for her to deny the fact. She opened her mouth, ready to disagree, but then realization came over her eyes and she nodded slightly.

"Then we'll let him go." Her voice was oddly strong, and he realized she'd finally woken up. "Okay?" she searched his eyes, desperate for any sign of emotion other than despair and heartbreak. She had almost preferred it when he'd been shouting. An angry Damon was much easier to deal with than one that was on the verge of tears. "We'll have to let him go."

Damon felt her hands slide from his cheeks down his neck, in almost a caress. She took the slightest half step toward him, almost invisible movements so she was closer to him. He wasn't even sure if she was aware of it herself. He nodded and flashed a small smile, his eyes softening to hers. She looked down, the sick pain of letting go slowly working its way through her heart into acceptance. She'd been working so hard to get Stefan back, to fight for the love she was sure was what she wanted. Truth was, Stefan had his freedom back whether Klaus was alive or not.

But, did she see him here, waiting for her with open arms? He hadn't even come back to the Boarding House to make sure she was okay. He was really gone, and he wasn't coming back, she knew that now. There was no compulsion keeping his love at bay, and it was time she learned to accept it and move on. Damon was here, right in front of her just as he had been for the past couple of years. She'd just been too blind to see it, and she wasn't going to let herself be blind anymore. Before she could look up and say any of those things, before she could talk herself into kissing him the cell in his pocket rang.

She pulled back quickly, embarrassed and upset that she'd hurt him. Keeping her eyes on the ground she stepped back, not entirely sure how she had gotten so close to him to begin with. He was like a magnet pulling her, tugging on her body and her mind. She could no longer resist him, and that fact scared the hell out of her. The angry determination came back to his face, hardening the lines of his cheekbones. "Not interested in a play by play of our failure right now Katherine."

Elena could hear her 'twin' speaking if she really tried hard, but if she was being honest with herself she didn't really care what they were talking about. She had a decision to make, and the choice wasn't going to be easy, and maybe Damon wouldn't even like it at first, maybe he wouldn't trust her that she was being honest, but dammit she had to try. She'd been lying to herself and to him for too damn long, hiding behind the mission of getting Stefan back. "At least my life's not boring." Elena heard her own voice on the other line, but the similarities between her the Salvatore brother's ex had ceased to really amaze her.

"Take care of yourself Katherine." Damon said, and ended the call. He looked at the screen for a moment, watching it go black. The lines in his face were still deep and she wanted t reach out to him, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it yet. One more minute, just one more minute and she would find the right words for him. He looked at her, waiting for her to say something, waiting for her to do something. But she just stood there, looking at him with those eyes. He didn't sigh, he didn't speak he just turned silently around and headed for a new bottle of brandy.

_a/n: yes, my loverly readers, I am going to leave you there for now. I have a lot of things to do today, but I promise I will find time to update this by tomorrow at the latest. I worked really hard on describing the scene for you guys, and I hope you all appreciate it. It was a short chapter I know, but I am still not entirely sure how I want to end it. I am currently wrestling with two ideas, and I'm sure after a little while I will be back here at the computer writing the second chapter for you. Let me know what you think so far, and I do apologize for the evil cliffhanger._


	2. Chapter 2

_a/n: I was so overwhelmed by the response I got for the first chapter. I'm glad you all enjoyed it so much. I hated having to leave you all on a cliffhanger like that, but hopefully that will make this chapter all the more better. (not correct grammer, I realize haha) anyway, so yes this will be the last chapter of the story, for anyone wondering as I will now be starting to work on my other one shots and more sets of drabbles. Happy Reading!_

_(aye, here there be drabbles, two in fact. Hunt and search for the pearls of moments but enjoy the story all the same!)_

Elena watched as Damon filled another glass. He sipped at his and handed the second one towards her. "You may as well have some. I have a feeling tonight will be one of the last nights of peace we get."

"No thank you." She shook her head, but still stepped toward him. He didn't move away, not even when she was right beside him and had her fingers wrapped around his wrist. She pulled his glass from his lips and forced him to place it on the table. "I think you should stop to."

"I don't need a babysitter Elena." He spat, and she knew the attitude he was in. He was roaring, desperately looking for a fight. The angry vampire had returned, and she could either leave and let him destroy the house and himself, or stay and argue with him.

"To me it looks like you do."

"Honestly, Elena. What do you care? The only reason you're here is because my brother ran off with that psycho bitch. He doesn't love you anymore, and you can finally see that now so you've decided to take pity on Damon Salvatore." He pulled his hand away from hers and drained the glass. She wasn't sure how much he'd had to drink, but it was a lot. "Well, I don't want it! I don't want to have you look at me like that anymore. I know I screwed up, I know your disappointed. I did the best I could, which as usual isn't fucking good enough."

He pulled his arm back and hurled the crystal against the wall. It shattered next to the fireplace and Damon watched as the broken pieces mirrored the flickering flames. Elena said nothing for a few moments, just watched him watching the fire. He was angry that was obvious, but he was also hurt to and perhaps even a little frightened. It was hard for her to think of Damon Salvatore being frightened, especially after watching him inches from death, but he was scared. She took a deep breath and walked up to him again. For someone that didn't seem to care about him, she sure did a lot of chasing after him.

"You are good enough." She whispered wrapping her fingers around his arm. She tugged him to face her, but he didn't budge. "Damon, look at me please." He said nothing, did nothing. He was like a statue and she sighed, moving herself in front of him when he would turn. His face was in her direction, but his eyes were still transfixed on the shards of crystal. "Dammit Damon! You have to talk to me! I don't blame you for what happened tonight."

Slowly, almost painfully his eyes came back to hers. She saw the bitter disappointment and hurt there and it nearly broke her heart. She could only imagine the sick pain he was feeling from failing, and with a tentative hand she reached out for his. Their fingers tangled together and she felt herself taking a step toward them, almost as if her body had a mind of its own. He looked down at their hands, surprised at first, then finally he spoke. "Who do you blame then?"

"You locked me up here to keep me safe, to keep me from letting my humanity get in the way. You brought Katherine into this so that when something happened, and Mikeal or Klaus got their hands on 'me' you wouldn't be distracted by your humanity. Stefan flipped the switch, he had no humanity as far as we were concerned, but you said it yourself, that he stopped Mikeal from killing you that night. Who's to say that he wasn't doing all of this for a reason? Maybe he did really bond with Klaus while he was out there, maybe there is a greater reason behind all of this. We may never know, but standing here and screaming about it won't change anything."

"So you're saying you blame Stefan?"

"I'm not blaming anyone, not really. Shit happens, we've seen it, we've lived through it and it will probably happen again, but when life manages to give us a break we have to take advantage of it. Stefan is gone, Katherine is gone and I don't see Klaus breaking down the door to get to me. We will have a very angry Rebekah to deal with later, so why not just try and let for a little while and enjoy the peace? With no alcohol." The last three words she said so strongly, Damon couldn't help but to nod.

"I can't just sit here and do nothing though Elena. We've been running, fighting, training and planning for so long. I don't really remember how to just be."

She pressed her palms to either side of his cheeks and forced him to look at her. "I have an idea."

Confusion and another emotion she couldn't quite decide flickered across his face. "What are you doing?"

"Distracting both of us." Then she touched her lips to his gently, almost so soft he could barely feel it at first.

She was like a magnet now, pulling him toward her slowly and smoothly. His hands smoothed up her back and pressed her chest closer, but he didn't let the kiss last for very long. He gently pushed on her shoulders and made himself move back. "I can't do this."

"Do what?" she hadn't realized just how breathy she'd sounded until now. One simple, almost innocent kiss had left her aching for more. She'd barely touched him and already she could feel the need clawing inside her stomach begging to be let out.

Elena knew that look in his eyes. She'd seen it before, and she knew that being on the receiving end of it wasn't always a good thing. If his control had snapped, there was no telling what he would do or say, and she wasn't sure if she could take anymore truth right now. All she really wanted to do was comfort him, but her own control was losing its grip and time to be wary of one another was running out. He stepped toward her, the crystal blue eyes she'd come to find trusting seemed to burn, and when his hands smoothed their way down her arms, she knew the final straw had been drawn for both of them.

"I know you can feel it." He said, finally speaking. "I know I'm not going crazy here, and you've finally begun to realize that this _thing_ between us is more than some thing we can ignore. I won't force you into this, but if you don't come to terms with how you feel, one way or another I have no choice but to move on."

He was being honest, and she owed it to both of them to be honest too. At the end of the day, it was them together. Just as it had been the other night he'd slept in her bed. It was always them, and she'd only just begun to realize that was the way she wanted it forever. "Alright Damon." She nodded and reached up to caress his neck. "You win."

"Win?" he looked a little shocked. "You think this is a game, that you can just play me and my brother back and forth until you get tired of one?" he didn't raise his voice, but the venom behind his words hurt more than if he'd been screaming.

She shook her head, desperate to make him understand. "No, you don't get it. I'm choosing you, only you. Damon you've gone through hell tonight because of me, and you've done things to save me that Stefan would never have dreamed of doing. You love me, and I know that now. And no matter how hard I tried to fight it, ignore it the fact is I love you too. You've never let me down, when it really counts. Aside from Jeremy, and yes you may drive me crazy and make me so angry I could stake you, but at the end of it we always end up back together."

"What exactly are you saying?" he asked, needing to hear it again. He needed to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

"I choose you, Damon Salvatore. Only you."

Damon revealed in the warmth at his back, glad that he'd left the fire burning. The bottle he'd tossed into it had added to the flames and there was the slightest taste of brandy in air as the flames licked and danced. Now, with Elena at his front, he wasn't sure which was heating him up more. The look in her eyes smoldered, and he couldn't help but to reach out and bring her even closer. Their bodies were flush against each other, and she sighed letting her eyes close and her head to fall back. As if a single touch from him was enough to give her pleasure. If she was getting satisfaction from that, she would have to wait until he could get their clothes out of the way.

When she opened her eyes again, he could see the flames burning there, smoldering and showing her true passion. He was dazed by it, completely captured by the power inside of her, before she wrapped her hand around his neck and pulled her lips to his. Then the fire moved, traveled into him and seemed to burn down his throat and into his gut as her kisses drove him wild. He felt like his skin was on fire wherever she touched him, but there was no pain. Her hands fisted in the front of his shirt as she tried desperately to pull herself closer to him.

"What are you doing to me?" he asked, breaking away to let her breath. Her chest rose and fell rapidly at the loss of oxygen and he could hear her heart pounding in his ears like a freight train. "You don't know what you're doing." He stated, letting his fingers wrap through her hair and bend her neck back. She seemed so small and fragile to everyone else, but he knew that the real Elena was in there somewhere, all she needed was the proper finesse to come out. He'd heard stories from Caroline about what this girl had been like before her parents accident and he was ready to see how maturity and time had turned that crazy girl into a wild woman.

"I don't care Damon." She shook her head. "This feels right, it's first real thing that's felt completely right to me in ages. I want you, I want to be with you, belong to you. We've wasted so much time arguing with each other, with ourselves. No more talking Damon, just kiss me."

"I'll do a lot more than that." The smirk she found secretly adorable shot through her in a new way and she felt her insides heat another few degrees. She wasn't sure if she would explode or melt first.

"Do whatever you want." She said breathlessly before he bent down to crush his lips to hers.

She prepared herself for the roughness, for the strength and slight pain she always figured would follow a passionate kiss from Damon, but instead it was wonderful. Her head spun a little and she found herself grasping to him. The pain from his force was sweet and she craved more of it. That's what made it real, made it true. His tongue battled with hers, fought for dominance but she would not give it willingly. He growled, smoothed his hands down her back. He nipped at her bottom lip, then sucked it between his teeth to kiss it better with his soft tongue. He tugged her hair, then whispered wonderful things.

Being with Damon Salvatore was like being on a rollercoaster. Ever since the Salvatore brothers came to town her whole world had been upside down, it had been going a million miles an hour into a head on collision with reality, but a sparkling, slightly distorted reality than the one she'd come to expect. Fairy tales and legends weren't so much stories anymore, but history. Mythical creatures to be feared of as children were actually around and could come after you. Everything was real, everything was intense, and as each new chapter of her life opened up she found herself turning onto just another new track.

At the moment, this ride was incredible. He was rough, then sweet and she honestly wasn't sure which one she liked best. Stefan, in fact everyone treated her like a porcelain doll. Damon never made the assumption, he knew she could take care of herself, he knew she could handle a little pain if it meant getting to the good. When the first pleased moan slipped from her lips, she knew the sound had broke the last hold of control he'd had on himself. The long sleeve shirt she was wearing was on the floor in the next moment, quickly followed by her tank top.

There was no chill in the room as the adrenaline from their kissing leaped around in her veins. There was a white hot heat that pooled in the bottom of her stomach and slowly worked its way down into an aching need she couldn't control. He was barely touching her, hardly kissing her now as his lips trailed all over her face and neck, but she couldn't help feeling as though she was about to explode from pleasure. It never came though, the release never came, she just stood; teetering on the edge and driving herself crazier. She wrestled his shirt off him then, desperately to feel his skin against hers, his muscles under her hands.

She couldn't get enough of him, she couldn't stop touching him. Her hands were blurs over his chest. Her nails dug into his skin, and the frenzy was intense as she let her need take over. Then, all at once everything stopped. Damon's hands softened against her and slipped down to her waist. His thumbs rubbed gently back and forth, his forehead pressed to hers as he looked down into her eyes. "I think we should slow down. Tonight has been crazy for all of us. I don't want you to wake up tomorrow and regret letting the adrenaline and atmosphere of tonight take over."

"I'm not letting anything take over." She shook her head. "For once I'm letting go and following my instincts." She pressed her lips to his, trailing her tongue of his bottom lip. "Let go with me Damon."

"That's a very dangerous thing for you to say to me." He warned, and she could feel his grip on her hips tighten.

"I'm not nearly afraid of you as you think I am."

"Then you are much more foolish than I thought you were." He smiled and with one had popped open the button of her jeans and slipped the zipper down.

"Trying to scare me away?" she teased, fumbling with the fly of his jeans for a moment before getting them undone as well.

Damon felt the warm heat of the fire jump up and lick at his back. Her hands smoothed up then down his chest, up and over his shoulders, down his arms and then hooked in the belt loops of his pants and tugged them down over his hips. The heat instantly warmed the new expanse of bare skin, but he shivered. She stepped back to look at him, remembering when she'd found him naked, dripping wet and covered in bubbles standing in this very room. "Like what you see?" he teased and bent down to suck at her neck.

Her head fell back and she moaned, gasping in surprise when his hand dipped into the front of her jeans and his fingers began to torture her through the fabric of her panties. He couldn't quite get to the right spot, and after a few minutes of extreme torture he pulled away and forced her to look at him. "What's the matter?" she asked, struggling for breath. He may not have been able to hit all the right spots, but the aching and drumming inside of her had rejoiced at the feel of his fingers.

"You have a choice Elena, but make it fast because I'm not sure I'll be able to wait much longer to have you."

"What's my choice?" she could feel how wet she was, could tell he was shaking from the want and the need to have him.

"I can take you upstairs and we can continue this in my room, or I can make love to you right here on the rug in front of the fire."

She contemplated for a whole minute and a half before the most wickedly sexy smile he'd ever seen twisted her lips. "Here, Damon." She stepped back from him and slipped her jeans down her legs. "Have me right here, in the room where we met."

He liked the simple, seductive irony of it all and would have commented on it had he not been distracted by taking in the sight of her bare legs as she stepped away from her jeans. She stood before him in a lousy excuse for underwear, not that he was complaining and a simple black bra. She could have been wearing anything and he still would have looked at her the same way, but as he stepped toward her and pulled her into his arms the look in his eyes made her feel as if she was wearing the most expensive silk lingerie in the world. "I'll make any rug burns you get up to you." He promised, picking her up and then, laying her down before the fireplace.

"Oh I know you will." She smiled, watching the smirk spread across his lips.

He bent over her, letting his kisses tease her face. She let her eyes close and settled back as he began to devour every inch of her skin. His lips were incredible, but the slow process of him moving down her body was torture. He paused at the rise of her breast and slipped a hand under her to unhook her bra. Her body went rigid for a moment, almost afraid of what he would think. Only two other people had seen her without a bra, and she doubted Matt could even remember now. He simply tossed the garment aside and dipped his head to lick around each nipple.

When he was satisfied he'd had enough of that for now, he moved down kissing along her ribcage and nibbling at her waist. When he got to her hips the euphoria of being worshipped drained away again as his fingers hooked into the tops of her panties. He knew she was holding her breath, he heard the skip of her heart as it missed a beat, but he could also smell her arousal and knew just how turned on she was, how desperate she was to have him. He dipped his head and kissed along her thigh, distracting her for a moment, just long enough to get her to forget about being uncomfortable.

Before she knew it, she was completely bare before him. She wanted to cover herself, but the look in his eyes stopped her. He was staring as if trying to mesmerize every inch of her skin, every curve of her body and every line. He looked at her as a artist would admire a beautiful sculpture, and all at once she relaxed a little more. His hands smoothed over her thighs as he moved to kneel between her legs. The air the moved between them was cool for a moment, but instantly heated as it reached her core. The scent was almost enough to send Damon's fangs out of hiding but he controlled the urge and bent to kiss the inside of the thigh he hadn't yet touched.

She sighed contentedly, pleased at first and then she felt his middle finger slide into her and she bucked up wildly. He pulled back to watch her face, saw it contort and then relax in pleasure as he teased her. The urge to taste her blood was too strong, but he repressed it a little longer with one sweep of his tongue against her. He teased her clit for a moment longer, thankfully already prepared for her momentary thrashing. She moaned, first incoherent words, then his name and then curses as he brought her closer to the edge she'd been teetering off of.

He kissed his way back up her body, a little faster this time. As the first orgasm erupted in her body, he could hear the rush of blood just beneath the surface of her skin. He knew how incredible she would taste at this moment, how the high he would get from her blood would be intensified if he drank now. But, his years of practice had taught him to be patient, and when he finally reached her lips again, she was clawing at his back and begging for him. She was still riding the waves of pleasure out against his hand, and when he pulled back she whimpered, but only for a moment. The emptiness she felt for the split second was worth it, for in the next moment Damon was inside her and she was being thrown off the edge all over again.

She wasn't sure if it was a second orgasm, or simply the first one just lengthened, but it was incredible either way. She clung to his arms, her nails digging into his muscles as he thrust in and out of her. She cried, called his name and begged him to go faster. He obliged and sent them both into bliss together. Elena felt him go still above her for a moment, then his lips were on her neck and she knew what was coming. He kissed and sucked, teasing her blood to the surface as she bucked up beneath him. The friction of them moving together was almost too much for her and she heard herself crying for him to bite her before she even knew it was her own voice.

His fangs sunk into her, and just as before the momentary pain that flickered was soon overpowered by the rush of sensations. She gasped and wrapped her legs around him, wishing it wouldn't end but at the same time desperate for it to be over so she could recover and try it all over again. The flames leaped and danced in the hearth as their bodies moved together, the burning of the rug was bothersome, but nowhere as hot as the feel of his skin against hers. Finally, when he'd drunk his craving and she'd collapsed beneath him, he rolled off her and lay next to her on the floor.

The flames relaxed a little, but still warmed their feet. Elena wasn't sure if she would ever be cold again, but soon enough the chill of aftershock began to wrap around her and she found herself being pulled against his body. She wondered if it was time to talk again and tilted her head up to look at him. He was smiling, actually genuinely smiling, and then he bent to press his lips to her forehead. There was no need for words, they'd said it all, and what they hadn't voiced had been shared with their bodies. She let her eyes close and settled her head on his shoulder, wondering just what the hell was going to happen now.

_a/n: wow, that was a heck of a lot longer than I intended, but I'm so happy with it. I hope you all do to! Please please let me know what you think! Any more requests are always welcome and I look forward to seeing what we can come up with next!_


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